Fact Check: Are the orca killer whales responsible for the missing submarine? Social media conspiracy theory debunked

Some people on the internet are speculating that orcas or killer whales might be responsible for the missing submersible that set out to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The black and white cetaceans were recently reported to have been messing with fishing boats and drowning them for fun. This led some netizens to wonder if the disappearance of the Titan submersible was also an orchestration by the orcas.

The submersible named Titan, equipped with four passengers and a pilot, disappeared on Sunday, June 18, after it began its deep-sea expedition to the wreckage site about 13,000 feet below the surface. A search-and-rescue operation for the five crew members on board began on Monday.

But people were quick to theorize that the culprit behind the missing watercraft might be killer whales. However, experts said that it is a false theory and is also damaging orcas’ reputation.

Andrew Trites, Director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit, said that although orcas live in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Canada, their diving depth is not more than 100 meters into the ocean, whereas the wreckage site of the Titanic is approximately 4,000 meters deep in the water.

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Netizens make hilarious killer whales jokes about missing submersible

While there has been no confirmation of the fact that the orcas, aka killer whales, are responsible for the Titan submersible from OceanGate to go missing, people on Twitter have gone on a spree to mention the ocean mammals as possible culprits. Some jokingly wrote that the orcas were holding the billionaires inside the submersible hostage.

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Experts point out why killer whales are not responsible for the missing Titan submersible

The inaccurate speculation about this marine animal rose due to the pod of orcas from the Strait of Gibraltar, who have sunk three ships so far. However, Andrew Trites told Newsweek that there is no way that this population of orcas could be involved with what has happened to the Titan submersible.

The accidental sinking of ships is unique to the orca pod off Portugal and Spain’s coasts. But experts claimed that this population from the Straits of Gibraltar does not interact with other pods. Thus, other clans of these animals would have to develop the action of sinking boats on their own, which is quite unlikely.

He also pointed out that the building materials for submersibles and sailboats are very different. Given the intense pressure the watercraft must endure while diving thousands of meters deep into the water, it is only natural to make its exterior with materials that are impossible for marine animals to damage or sink.

On the other hand, sailboats are commonly made out of fiberglass, which is a fragile material, making it prone to damage.

Though Trites has debunked internet speculation about killer whales being the reason behind the disappearance of the submersible, he and other experts raised concerns about the mammals. They are worried that these ongoing theories about killer whales damaging marine vessels just for fun are harming their reputation and could tragically spark the deaths of these majestic mammals.

Monika Wieland, the Orca Behavior Institute’s director, said that the media coverage of these marine animals is borderline unhinged and could result in people developing a stark fear of orcas for no reason. She said:

"My concern is for the whales, who outside of the small population near the Strait of Gibraltar, have absolutely no interest in interacting with vessels of any type.”

Andrew Trites agreed to Wieland’s concern and hoped that people would not be too quick to blame orcas for every ocean mystery that would take place.